You have the obligation to speak out against evil

Isaiah 5:20. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Yes, I know I've said it before, but, it bears repeating.

Up until February of 2014, I was a vatnik.  I would not have called myself that, but I was.  I bought that the west was corrupt, and that Russia was the morally superior country.  I was this, even knowing how the Russian government has a habit of poisoning people and pushing them out the window or blowing up their airplanes.

And then the “annexation” (theft) of Crimea happened.    I’ve already done a ton of research on this topic, but, suffice it to say, that if you believe that Crimea democratically chose to be part of Russia, I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. (From 'Not Us' To 'Why Hide It?': How Russia Denied Its Crimea Invasion, Then Admitted It, and no, I don’t trust polling that says most Crimeans want to be part of Russia, as Crimea voted to be part of Ukraine, which seems to be forgotten, Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Kiev, 31 May 1997)

Democracy isn’t democracy if there’s a gun to your head. 

But I don’t want to talk about Crimea, or Russia, or Ukraine (which Crimea is part of, ask the Crimeans), per se, I want to talk about evil.

Ahh, yes, the one thing everyone convinces themselves they aren’t. Some evil is obvious.  Like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Vladimir Lenin, Vladimir Putin, The Pillsbury dough boy. 

But, some evil is subtle.  This is the evil you must worry about.  The evil that says “I am going to remain neutral on this moral issue”.  The evil that is lukewarm and passive aggressive.  The evil that sees itself as a suburban soccer mom.  Bland, boring, and inoffensive. 

No.  We musn’t accept ANY evil.  And when you refuse to take sides to stand up against an evil that is worse than all the others, you are cooperating with evil. 

Oh sure, you may, from a moral standpoint, really have no culpability if you are unaware that the thing you’re neutral on is evil.

But, is killing women and children evil?  What about babies?  Is bombing maternity wards in hospitals evil?  (Pregnant woman, baby die after Russian bombing in Mariupol) 

If you aren’t speaking up against that, you are COMPLICIT in that evil.

One cannot remain neutral on evil.  If the forces of good can compel you to do good, what can the forces of evil do to compel one to do evil? 

But, no one who does evil starts out doing evil.  Do not misunderstand me, I am NOT denying original sin.  But, what I am saying is this; it’s a gradual slope. 

In “Screwtape Letters”, by CS Lewis, Screwtape praises his nephew, Wormwood, with the following (I thought it would be cool to take a picture of my own book).

(I can't figure out how to put the pic in, so here's a link).  

Gradual slope

And that’s the thing, no one starts off thinking that what they’re doing is evil.  Think about sin.  Think about how you justify sin.  I know what my main sins are, and I work on them, but, I get caught back into them more times than I care to admit. 

Though I started writing this article before I read this story, one thing I have noticed, is this article from the National Catholic Register PERFECTLY encapsulates when I’m talking about.  (Catholic Graphic Designer’s Resolution to Leave Planned Parenthood Opens Door to Creating Sacred Art).  For the background, he worked at Planned Parenthood.  Do read the article. 

““I tried to make excuses, like, ‘They don’t just do abortions — they do a lot of other good things, like breast cancer testing,’” he said.

Of course, you could go the opposite direction on that.  I’m a vegetarian.  So, I just LOVE (not) hearing how “Hitler was a vegetarian.  Except he wasn’t.  (Or at least not that I’m convinced of).  I also happen to have Israeli family.  I am literally the last person you’d call a Nazi (leftist historical revisionism, notwithstanding).  Even if he was a vegetarian, that doesn’t prove or disprove anything about Hitler, other than his diet. 

My point is this.  We can delude ourselves.  And we do.  I have deluded myself into thinking I am unloved at times.  But I know this isn’t true.  If I was going to talk about my personal life, we’d be here all day.  And you’d find out that some autistic people never shut up. 
Speak out against evil, do what is right, moral, and good.  And for the love of God, stop justifying your sin.

*Bible verse (s) from the King James Version.